Blu Ray Weekly Releases – Old Dogs on Blu-ray Disc Released March 9th, 2010

Mar 18

Blu Ray Weekly Releases – Old Dogs on Blu-ray Disc Released March 9th, 2010

Walt Disney Studios returns to live action family movies with the Blu-ray release of Old Dogs on March 9th, 2010.

No doubt Disney was attempting to recreate the success of Wild Hogs, with John Travolta appearing again, this time joined by veteran comedian Robin Williams as his best friend and business partner.

Early on we discover that Travolta’s character Charlie has a light hearted influence on Williams’ character Dan, who is typically more serious and hard working.

During a loose and wild vacation Charlie arranged seven years previously, the normally cautious Dan hooked up with and spontaneously married Vicki, only to have the marriage annulled the next day.

However what Dan didn’t know is that Vicki had paternal twin children from the affair, and it is only now they meet up again and he gets to meet his estranged children.

Dan ends up looking after the children for a couple of weeks while Vic
fef
ki serves some time for civil disobedience, and naturally ‘hilarity ensues’.

Sadly though, while the premise seems to have promise, the movie delivered here does not live up to the promise.

While the kids may find it entertaining enough, much of the humour is somewhat strained from an adult perspective and the movie in general comes across as contrived and false.

The characters’ actions don’t make much sense at times, serving only to create the next gag or situation to be overcome.

In addition to John Travolta and Robin Williams, the cast includes Kelly Preston, Seth Green, Matt Dillon, Dax Shepard, Bernie Mac, Luis Guzmán, Lori Loughlin, Justin Long and John’s real life daughter Ella Bleu Travolta.

This was Bernie Mac’s last film, and the theatrical release was delayed due to Mac’s untimely death.

The film’s release was further delayed due to Travolta and Kelly Preston’s son Jett’s death, and was eventually released a full year after the original planned release date.

Old Dogs was directed by Walt Becker, who also directed Van Wilder and Wild Hogs.

The movie was widely panned by critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of only 6%, and an IMDb score of 5.2/10.

Old Dogs earned $49M at the US box office.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 28 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

With a nice recent production, the image quality looks pretty good here.

For full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc, check out the details page for Old Dogs.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels – 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 32.0 GB used and is coded for Region A.

Supplements for this title include BD Live Network features.

This release also includes a DVD and a Digital Copy for both iTunes and Windows Media.

The feature has an optional audio commentary with Director Walt Becker, producer Andrew Panay and writers David Diamon and David Weissman.

The young stars interview the older stars in the Young Dogs Learn Old Tricks featurette.

Addional footage is presented in the form of both bloopers and deleted or alternate scenes.

On the music side, the Music Video for the Bryan Adams song You’ve Been A Friend To Me is included, along with a music video for Every Little Step performed by John Travolta and Ella Bleu Travolta, which comes across as a promotional exercise for Ella Bleu’s benefit.

Perhaps Travolta wants to position her as the next Hannah Montana…

Old Dogs is a fairly decent Blu-ray release from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, though the movie itself is a bit of a disappointment.

That said your kids might like it.

The retail price for the Combo release is $44.99, available at Amazon for $24.99, saving 44%!

Alternatively there is also a Old Dogs Single Disc Edition that retails for less but oddly costs more at Amazon.

Extras:

Audio Commentary With Director Walt Becker, Producer Andrew Panay And Writers David Diamon And David Weissman
Young Dogs Learn Old Tricks
Bloopers
Deleted Scenes
Music Video “You’ve Been A Friend To Me” Performed By Bryan Adams
Music Video “Every Little Step” Performed By John Travolta And Ella Bleu Travolta

Synopsis:

John Travolta and Robin Williams star in Old Dogs, the hilarious family comedy that will have you howling. Two best friends have their lives turned upside down when they’re unexpectedly charged with the care of seven-year-old twins while on the verge of the biggest business deal of their lives. The clueless bachelors stumble in their efforts to take care of the children, leading to one debacle after another, with a gorilla and some pecking penguins – and perhaps to a newfound understanding of what’s really important in life. Featuring a riotously funny supporting cast including Seth Green, Kelly Preston, Matt Dillon and Lori Laughlin, Old Dogs is a laugh-a-minute comedy filled with heart.